Opportunity in transition : domestic political opportunity structures and transitional justice

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

Despite dating back to the post-World War II period, the concept of transitional justice rose prominently from the 1980s. In spite of the ideals and objectives behind this concept, transitional justice has experienced problems in implementation and limitations in progress. This thesis therefore explores the following research questions – 1) What is a key factor affecting transitional justice? and 2) How can transitional justice be better supported and facilitated? While this can be attributed to a combination of factors, this thesis contends that a key factor lies in the domestic socio-political realm. By extrapolating ideas from the political opportunity theory, the thesis suggests how domestic political opportunity structures can affect transitional justice. In order to reflect these understandings, the thesis presents the case studies of Argentina and Uruguay, with Argentina reflecting a relatively supportive and facilitative socio-political context, and the case of Uruguay presenting a comparably more challenging path. In acknowledging these implications that this could have on the study of transitional justice, the thesis concludes by considering how different actors can better support and facilitate transitional justice by advocating and assisting in long-term domestic change.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• 1. Introduction 1
• 2. Methodology 5
• 3. Literature Review 13
• 4. Theoretical Framework and Assessment 22
• 4.1 Political Opportunity Theory 22
• 4.1.1 Relative Openness or Closure of Institutionalized Political System 27
• 4.1.2 Stability of Elite Alignments that Undergird a Polity 30
• 4.1.3 Presence of Elite Allies 34
• 4.1.4 State’s Capacity or Propensity for Repression 37
• 5. Case Studies 41
• 5.1 Argentina 41
• 5.2 Uruguay 52
• 6. Recommendations 61
• 7. Conclusion and Implications 65
• Bibliography 68